742 



HO IV I GARDENED. 



I came near denying myself flowers altogether, know- 

 ing how lightly Rupert esteemed them. But just then 

 a vein of self-assertion cropped out, and saying, " If I 

 have all the labor I will also have some of the gratifi- 

 cation," I deliberately set down White Swanley violets, 

 double purple ditto. Excelsior pansies, evening prim- 

 roses, rose-bud poppies, lilies of the valley, sweet peas, 

 candle cactus, mignonette, etc. 



Was it a wonder that Rupert, long-suffering though 

 he is, looked black ? But neither of us spoke ; we have 

 petted the two bears, ' ' bear " and ' ' forbear, " ever since 

 we became a family of two, and we never have words 

 between us. 



Our garden plot consists of a lovely patch of coarse, 

 yellow building sand, part of a vein that is fifteen feet 

 deep, I am told, and, as I can testify, with but six inches 

 of mould by way of coverlid. 



I had sense enough to know that ordinary enriching 

 would not supply the deficiencies of such land, but a 

 lucky "adv." from dear, old Boston-town (precious 

 hub of the universe ! autocratic town of the Americas ! 

 what should we do without thee — to what demand art 

 thou not equal !) promised a lawn-dressing and garden 

 fertilizer which claimed to produce a rich growth of 

 grass on pure sand, and to furnish plant-food for vege- 

 tables on the most unlikely soil, besides being clean, 

 odorless, pleasant to handle, free from weed-seed, insect- 

 larvse, death to fleas, worms, grass-hoppers, caterpillars, 

 bugs and moths. In short, desirable from every possi- 

 ble point of view ; and, to cap the climax, delivered at 

 your very door absolutely free of charge. 



Surely here was the chance of a lifetime for an 

 amateur horticulturist ! Thankful that there was neither 

 use nor need of consulting Rupert, I quietly ordered a 

 quantity sufficient to make lawn and garden the envy of 

 all beholders, and mailed my letters, rejoicing thereat. 



With gratifying promptitude the orders were acknowl- 

 edged, and promise given of speedy sending of the 

 goods. I have ceased talking to Rupert, but I some- 

 times think aloud, and so it came to pass that one day 

 he overheard me say ; " If I don't know anything about 

 out-door work, I still shall have a garden which will be a 

 credit to me. So much for keeping posted and abreast 

 with the times !" 



CHAPTER II. 

 Snow was on the ground when I ordered my sinews 

 of work ; but winter had given place to spring, and sum- 

 mer was at the door, before my seeds came — but no 

 fertilizer ! 



I promptly sallied forth to find a man with a horse to 

 plough my 2 x 4-rod garden. 



After long search I found two inseparables (one could 

 not come without the other !) — and their team, making 

 four ; who charged by the hour for their several selves. 

 The quartette were fairly occupied, as the horses and 

 one man ploughed, while the other man diligently helped 

 and ordered, and both men talked pleasantly ; filling m 

 the time to their mutual satisfaction, so that I had no 

 jdle moments to pay for. True, one man and one horse 



would have answered my purpose full as well, for the 

 soil was light — and they would have cost less — but in 

 view of the results, which were so certain, the extra 

 expense became a small matter an4 was paid without 

 demur. 



Heavy showers had prevented the men from doing all 

 I wanted them to do, so I the next morning rose at four 

 and amused myself by laying out the beds and planting 

 my seed; a pastime which occupied me till i P. M., 

 necessitating a hurried breakfast and a cold dinner. 

 But Rupert, with characteristic amiability, did not com- 

 plain, and I was recompensed by the thought of work 

 well done — albeit unaccustomed toil. 



The only damper to my light-heartedness was the fact 

 that the fertilizer which was to be the specific for all 

 the natural draw-backs of the soil had not arrived, and 

 consequently could not be worked in prior to seeding. 

 Moreover, my plants had not come. 



Our garden, Rupert's and mine — I am not a strong- 

 minded woman, dear reader, if I have grown brown and 

 horny-handed from toil such as American ladies are 

 rarely called upon to perform — our garden lies on a 

 sunny (I'ery sunny) western slope. The drainage is 

 unsurpassed ; and I facilitated it still more by running 

 my beds from east to west, leaving the most charming 

 path-gutters, or ditches, between them. Hence the next 

 night when one of our Michigan deluges fell, Rupert 

 heard me gently murmuring in my sleep the query as to 

 whether it might not have been wise to have had our lot 

 terraced, so as to have had both yard and garden level 

 ground. 



And daylight proved the correctness of my thought, 

 as on prospecting in the morning the neatly laid-out gar- 

 den was found to have become a series of longitudinal 

 stream beds with only slight dividing ridges, which bore 

 small resemblance to the original sightly beds. 



I had not much appetite for breakfast that day ; still 

 I sang at my work as usual. 



The few seeds that were not washed out did their 

 prettiest, as it was fine growing weather. But after a 

 few days the brave young plants began mysteriously 

 to disappear, leaving only gaping holes to show where 

 they had been. Sorely perplexed, I scrutinized my 

 poor garden until I found out the cause. Nimble black 

 fleas and sage-green catapillars, with frisky grasshoppers, 

 devoured them root and all, while a still more disgusting 

 depredator in the shape of a black and green striped 

 worm an inch and a half long and half an inch thick, 

 foraged on the tender roots of the tomatoes, cutting them 

 off by wholesale. 



Ashes suggested themselves as the likeliest remedy. 

 But, alas ! gasoline stoves furnished none, and winter 

 refuse had been removed long, long ago. Ah ! happy 

 thought, why not try my fertilizer ? It had arrived at 

 last, though not free of charge, nor yet grumbling *on 

 the part of the man who brought it, and who actually 

 forced me, a woman, to carry it in doors, for "fear lest 

 handling it might hurt his hands !" I think he must be 

 related to my indolent Rupert. 



